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Analysis and recommendations concerning internal
communications within World Vision UK
November 2011
Empowering our peopleSharing information to deliver the Strategy
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Contents
Executive Summary 3
Key recommendations 4
Section 1 Introduction 5
Section 2 Process of research and analysis 6
Section 3 Summary of ndings from desk analysis phase 7
Section 4 Analysis and recommendations following interview phase 8
4.1 Organisational communications 8
4.2Communications around the specic considerations
of the London move and Childrens rights campaign 14
4.3Internal communications culture 15
Section 5 Embedding these changes 17
Annex 1 Table 1 - Current World Vision UK internal communications channels 18
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Executive Summary
This report looks at internal communications processes, practices and culture
within World Vision UK and makes a series of recommendations which aredesigned to help the organisation continue its journey of improvement. It
begins with the assumption that just as effective communication is the key to
securing and building donor support and inuence with stakeholders, so the
delivery of an organisations goals is reliant on the whole of the staff group
feeling engaged and involved in the same way. This report analyses the current
situation and practices under the loose banner of internal communications
and makes recommendations for improvement in the short and longer term.The organisation has been through a period of change, and continues to evolve in its strategy, structure
and operations. The economic environment is tough, and the nancial year has just started, with plans and
budgets agreed. It is therefore clear that the organisation cannot make substantial investment in internal
communications. However it is equally clear that staff feel that if the organisation wants to take its agenda
forward as effectively as possible there must be some thought and change to how information is shared,
decisions communicated and feedback generated throughout the organisation.
The analysis nds many positives on which to build and many examples of effective organisational and team -
led efforts to share information: staff enjoyed the opportunity they were given to engage in the development
of the Organisational Strategy, and are as a result clear about its goals. In the main they view the changes
that have happened as positive and are enthusiastic to begin implementing the strategy and delivering the
new campaign around childrens rights. And they nd the leaders and Directors within the organisation
approachable, willing communicators who want where they can to engage staff. Perhaps most signicantly, all
staff shared the view, that as an organisation of 200 people with goals as ambitious as World Vision UKs, it is
essential that every ounce of organisational energy is clearly targeted at bringing about the positive change
that you all passionately believe in.
However, there were clearly challenges, and this analysis found evidence that there is room for improvement
of current internal communications practice. These have been grouped into three core areas:
Corporate or organisational communications: this is about the key internal channels and processes
for information dissemination and ideally feedback, up, down and across the organisation. The
recommendations in this area also encompass how internal communications should be managed at a
corporate level.
Communicating short term challenges: these concern the key challenges of embedding and maximising
the impact of the new Campaign, and ensuring that the move of a signicant number of staff to London
does not have an adverse impact on organisational communication and coherence of purpose.
The culture of communications: this is about the way the organisation does things. Some of this is about
leadership, some about values, style and tone and the perception of staff as key stakeholders. As an overtly
Christian organisation, there is much in the organisational culture which lends itself to mutual support
and shared goals. These are qualities that can help in supporting effective internal communication.
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Key recommendations
In the short term, to quickly improve internal communication at an organisational level, World Vision leaders
should agree to:
Create an internal communications function, at the very least making one person responsible for key
channels internal messaging, supporting across the organisation and supporting strategy implementation.This should be at an appropriately senior level with sufcient responsibility to lead strategically. It is
expected that this could be achieved with minimal impact on budgets.
Establish a clear, simple management cascade of core information and decisions, linked to the strategy
that will ensure consistent down the line communication across the organisation.
Clarify responsibility for the existing channels, and how they should be used. The purpose of All Staff
Meetings, the weekly email, the staff notice boards and the soon to arrive plasma screens should all be clear
to staff, and they should recognise how and when they will receive important organisational communication.
Continue the existing weekly email but explicitly link it to the Strategy headings and ask that a senior
manager ensures that key priorities are reected.
Establish and maintain an organisational calendar and a clear, up to date organisation chart and contactlist, saving staff time, and giving them basic information essential for planning and delivery.
Continue to make basic changes to the intranet, in order to reect as a minimum, up to date team and
corporate information, contact lists, plans and the calendar of events.A small internal team should look in
detail at the pros and cons of taking up the offer from World Vision Canada to use their intranet operating system,
in the same way as WV Germany has done.
In terms of the pressing challenges of the London Move and the One Theme Campaign, the key
recommendation in both cases is:
To involve operational staff in implementation planning if they are given the chance (in the case of the
London move) to contribute to how communications challenges will be addressed between the two
ofces, they will feel less anxious, and more able to make new systems work appropriately. The same is
true of the campaign.
In addition, there are some longer term recommendations. It is recognised that resources to invest in
internal communications are limited currently. However, the following improvements should be planned in
to the resource allocation cycle if the organisation is to make a step change in the way it engages staff:
The organisational intranet should ultimately be completely redeveloped, on an appropriate forum which
can be supported internally by IT, and with a simple content management system which can be used
across the organisation with safeguards built in. The extent of the work needed will depend on whether
the option to adopt the World Vision Canada intranet model is taken in the short term.
The organisation should actively seek to develop more mechanisms for feedback and for iterative
discussion of organisational / operational issues for staff. Staff valued the Strategy consultation, but dont
feel on day to day matters there are the same opportunities to shape delivery across the organisation.
Some design capability for internal communications should be resourced to ensure that the quality of
information is of similar standard to that produced for external audiences.
In terms of organisational culture, demonstrating to the organisation that internal communications
is important will be a good start. Most importantly, there needs to be a sense of intentionality: that
communicating effectively with and between staff is a priority and is acknowledged as essential to
ensuring that World Vision UK delivers for the children and families it seeks to support. This report also
makes recommendations as to how the overarching changes in culture and practice might be embedded in
the organisation going forward.
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Section 1: Introduction
World Vision UKs headquarters, from where the majority of its staff operate, is based in one location in
Milton Keynes.
Within that building, around 200 staff work day to day, organised into 4 Directorates, within which up to 6units or teams operate. Some staff are based overseas, and there is a small team in London working on UK
Government Relations. In addition, a number of staff work part time, and for others, working from home is
a regular practice.
World Vision UK is the British part of the global World Vision organisation. World Vision UK shares the
vision, values and goals of the global umbrella, but has its own organisational strategy and manages its own
operations within that global context.
The current structure of World Vision UK is a result of an organisational change which took place in 2010.
This preceded a process of developing a new organisational Strategy, and a clearer planning process for
delivery of that strategy. The organisation has also agreed a new brand, and this will be operationalised over
the coming months. These factors taken together mean that the organisation has been through a period
of quite signicant transition as a result, with some turnover of staff, and some teams either just reaching
capacity, or having taken some time to adjust to their new priorities and ways of working. This transition
is set to continue into the medium term, with around 40 staff being relocated to a new London ofce, and
separately, with the development and implementation of a new unifying campaign on childrens rights (the
one theme campaign).
All of the analysis should therefore be seen in the context of this transition, and the recommendations
are geared to helping the organisation manage and emerge from that transition effectively. In addition, the
organisations strongly and deeply held Christian value base creates an ethos of shared endeavour and
a spiritually driven sense of mutual support. This means that informal networks for communication and
information sharing tend to be strong and recommendations implicitly acknowledge this.
The specic brief of this consultancy was to assist thinking about organisations key internal communications
challenges in general terms and in relation to the new campaign and the London move, and to make
recommendations to meet them.
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Section 2: Process of research and analysis
The work comprised two overlapping phases of analyses. The rst involved desk research of key strategy
and other communications documents, including the intranet. The second phase involved interviews with
27 staff from all grades and all directorates within the organisation. Some of the staff interviewed willbe directly affected by the London move. The staff were a mix of new and longer term employees and
some were spoken to individually, others in groups. Staff were asked a range of structured questions, and
encouraged to give positive examples of where internal communication was working effectively as well as
pointers to where improvements could be made. All responses were given condentially, though Table 1 in
Annex 1gives some examples of some of the responses including anonymous verbatim comments which
provide a useful insight into the variety of staff views expressed.
The analysis in this report is structured into three sections:
1. Corporate or organisational communications: this is about the key internal channels and processes
for information dissemination and ideally feedback, up, down and across the organisation. The
recommendations in this area also encompass how internal communications should be managed at acorporate level.
2. Communicating short term challenges: these concern the key challenges of embedding and maximising
the impact of the new Campaign, and ensuring that the move of a signicant number of staff to London does
not have an adverse impact on organisational communication and coherence of purpose. If these challenges can
be overcome successfully, they may provide learning for ensuring future challenges are equally well managed.
3. The culture of communications: this is about the way the organisation does things. Some of this is about
leadership, some about values, style and tone. These recommendations are important, insofar as they will
help the organisation avoid the risk that people assume by creating an internal communications function,
the problems will no longer exist.
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Section 3: Summary of ndings from deskanalysis phase
Issues emerging from the desk analysis have been categorised into a simple SWOT. The follow up interviews
were then used to question whether this analysis was right and to add depth and understanding to the
situation, and what needed to happen to build on strengths and tackle weaknesses. The initial desk analysis
found the following:
Strengths
The leadership team recognises the need to improve internal communications
There is an organisational culture which is in the main collaborative and committed
World Vision UK has incredible content powerful case studies of successes and vital programme in the
developing world
Strong communications skills and practises exist within the organisation already in relation to external
audiences (eg Funders).
Weaknesses
There is an absence of internal comms structures and processes
There are limited dedicated resources
Where internal communication activities exists they are not well integrated with other parts of the
organisations communications mix (advocacy, public affairs, media, fundraising) NB this is not necessarily
an organisational structure issue
Despite efforts to improve content and functionality, the intranet is not t for purpose. It is not trusted,
not well used, content is often out of date, it has no technical support and does not function effectively.
Opportunities
A new internal brand and campaign focus on the rights of children is emerging, and have the potential togalvanise staff. There has been some internal engagement done already round this in key teams (Public
Engagement marketing, communications, fundraising)
World Vision UK has some specic short term challenges to address (brand, move) and a long term
internal communications strategy is needed.
Threats
Impending move of some staff out of ofce to relocate to London, though details (timing etc) unclear as
yet. NB the move in itself is not a threat, but the way it is communicated and handled could impact on
staff morale and performance.
2010 restructure some staff perceive this was not well handled from communications point of view.
This analysis found some staff expressing anxiousness that while they understood the aims and thrust of the
strategy, they were unsure of what it meant to them in practice; many expressed frustration that even simple
information required for them to do their jobs effectively staff lists, dates of key events, changes to processes
and procedures was not readily available and took precious time to nd out; and others felt that without
more clarity about decisions, more context around key priorities and regular structured information to help
them do their jobs, they would not be able to perform as effectively as they would have liked.
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Section 4: Analysis and recommendationsfollowing interview phase
This section is under three headings:
Organisational communication, which covers the key generic channels;
Short term communications challenges, which encompasses the Campaign and the London move;
And the nal part covers the communications culture.
At the end of each of these three parts, a number of recommendations are made.
4.1 Organisational communications
This rst part of the analysis covers the key organisational internal communications including the
management of internal communications; the core channels (email, intranet, all staff meetings, notice boards);
the management cascade; cross team communications; and communications for planning.
At the end of the analysis a series of recommendations are made.
4.1.1 Management of internal communications.
This is not seen to be anyones clear responsibility. A Team Co-ordinator within the Organisational
Effectiveness Directorate has some responsibilities for some channels, which she delivers well and with
a strong sense of where improvements are needed, particularly given the limited resources she has. But
overall there is not held to be a strategic approach to internal communication, nor are the various other
efforts across the organisation to communicate up and down and across the directorates felt to be co-
ordinated, or effectively aligned with the range of external communications that the organisation delivers.
The organisation has faced similar challenges and adopted innovative solutions recently, including for the
issue of Project Management (see box below)
Case Study: improving project management
The organisation needs to balance and manage a large number of projects at any one time. Whereas in
some teams, this was done effectively, and staff had the relevant skills and experience, in others difculties
were being encountered, leading to cost and time overruns, and occasionally project failures. A decision
was taken to appoint a specialist Project Manager, whose job is principally to work with teams across the
organisation to instil and support a level of project management discipline and consistency to minimise
the risk of things going awry.
Consideration should be given as to where the internal communications function should be located withinthe organisation. It is becoming increasingly common practice for internal communications to be located
alongside other communications professionals (eg those responsible for campaigns, marketing, fundraising etc).
On balance this would be the optimum place to locate the function within World Vision UK, although it could
also be located in a central function as it is a cross organisational support role. There are arguments either way.
The main thing is that the scope of the role and its seniority reect the importance of the challenge.
4.1.2 Existing channels
There are actually quite a lot of channels for communicating information within the organisation. Table 1
(attached as Annex 1 to this report) itemises these, identifying as many as 6 regular, organisation wide channels,
and a number of other informal, irregular or team specic channels which nonetheless are pan organisation inreach. There are a number of positives to build on within these channels, as well as some challenges:
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Positives
All Staff Meetings are generally appreciated and although there is a fear that they try and cover too much
ground, they are viewed as useful, with certain caveats around follow up, how the agenda is set and how
to access the information presented if you miss the meeting.
The time the CEO invests in communication welcomed: particularly well thought of are his video blogs whentravelling overseas.
There is no shortage of opportunities to communicate: the organisation has pretty much all of the channels
that youd expect for its size, with a mix of face to face, electronic, manager-led and cross team channels
all existing.
There are some good examples of effective use of the channels: the Strategy consultation was thought to have
been done well, and the new campaign has attempted to engage people earlier and more thoroughly.
Directors are felt to be strong, committed communicators and approachable.
Challenges
The channels not always appropriately used: some emails sent by managers or as updates are too long andunfocused; the notice boards around the organisation dont give staff contextual information or link
content to the strategy. As noted, the intranet not t for purpose.
Lack of understanding of what channels exist and what they are for: people were not clear about the process
for getting things onto the All Staff Meeting agenda, for example. And very few people are able to update
the intranet. Neither is there clarity what should go in all staff emails etc.
Some channels are led from different parts of the organisation: this is useful in terms of sharing the burden
and the potential to involve a range of teams, but does mean that messaging is not well co-ordinated.
Lack of space for feedback / discussion:most of the channels are one way; there is little time for discussion
at staff meetings; emails do not encourage feedback;
Lack of leadership engagement..... but at the same time, junior staff may feel they dont get a say in majormeetings: the intranet and internal communications email are the responsibility of a member of staff
who has no access to the leadership meetings or decision making processes. At the opposite end there is a
feeling that All Staff meetings are at risk of being dominated by managers and can be too high level in tone.
Lack of clarity about who is responsible:this is particularly the case with ambient media such as posters
or notice boards. As a result, they are wasted as opportunities, and the information they hold is often out
of date and irrelevant.
Case Study: the failure of notice boards a problem for plasmas?
The organisation has decided to invest in a series of screens to display dynamic information to staff, to
be located at a number of places in the Milton Keynes building. While this may be a positive development,
a look around at the existing notice boards illustrates the problems that can arise if there is not clarity
about ownership or purpose of these kinds of ambient channels. Currently staff notice boards are
largely unused, with the information they do contain being either out of date or irrelevant (in terms of
organisational priorities). As a result staff quickly ignore them as channels. Thought needs to be given
to the content and updating of the plasma screens if a similar situation is to be avoided.
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The staff notice board has
information on re exits, a risk
management helpline and then
a series of adverts for a local
theatre group, a plumber and a
holiday cottage.
Lack of technical support: there is no IT support available to x glitches on the intranet, and no capacity
to introduce new features (eg discussion boards).
An offer has been made by World Vision Canada which would allow World Vision UK to use their
sharepoint intranet system. This has been something that World Vision Germany have already adopted.
Looking at the technical requirements of the intranet was beyond the brief of this report. However, this
does look like an opportunity that should be explored.
There is frustration that while external communications materials (supporter mailings etc) are vibrant
and engaging, there is not the design or publishing support for internal communications materials.
There are limited links to strategy / organisational priorities: there are few attempts to use any of the
channels to communicate in a regular and structured way, linked to the strategic objectives (or at least
not that are perceived by many of the staff). The case study below of notice boards showing country
information is a small but informative example.
Case Study: information displays
about sponsored children
Throughout the Milton Keynes HQ are a number
of notice boards themed around different
countries (Uganda, Malawi, Bolivia etc). On each
board are a variety of pictures of sponsored
children, alongside letters from them and some
information about their circumstances. Theseare potentially engaging, and interesting to staff
and visitors. They could be improved, however,
and be even more effective, with some minor
enhancement, for example: a description of the
World Vision programmes and priorities in the
country; information about the country team,
along with contact details; some key facts and
gures about World Visions local work etc.
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4.1.3 The Cascade
Many organisations use a fairly standard model of cascading information down from the senior leadership
team to individual managers who then brief their team. There are many ways of doing this some heavily
planned and regulated, others looser or less formal - but the principle remains the same. There is some
sense of a cascade in operation at World Vision UK, although it is at the less formal end of any spectrum.Some observations based on the discussions are that:
Information cascades in different ways in different parts of the organisation, though most teams felt the
level of information they got from their senior managers was good. Exceptions tended to be in teams
which had experienced major turnover or the absence of a manager, and even within these teams, people
acknowledged that things were improving.
There was broad agreement that the Directors were approachable and shared key information with
their teams
However, it was acknowledged that directors and other heads are busy so briengs may not always
happen, managers may forget to pass on some information etc
Although there was no huge desire for regulation of management communications, it was noted that thelack of a core brief or script meant that sometimes teams had a variable sense of what organisational
priorities and performance and linkages to the strategy.
4.1.4 Cross team communication
The analysis found some good examples of this in practice, and every team is making some effort, eg
political literacy training is being offered by the government relations team, and the HEA espresso
bulletin which everyone who mentioned was positive about. Unfortunately, sometimes the best efforts
are unrewarded: for example, the Finance team invited key internal stakeholders to a training session on
changes to expense forms. 20 people said they would attend, but on the day only 4 turned up!
Although there is no excuse for not being proactive, there may be more the organisation can do tofacilitate better information sharing: there is no organisation wide calendar that is properly used, so
people cannot forward plan or co-ordinate, in relation to internal meetings, visits overseas, key campaign
moments, supporter mailings etc. The staff list is unreliable, and the intranet, though improving slowly, is
not trusted by most staff as a reliable information store.
Case study: overseas visitors and donors
Visits to the UK from country managers or other overseas visitors can be a great opportunity to
engage supporters, donors or other stakeholders. Unfortunately, sometimes these chances are missed,
because the external facing departments are not aware of the visits until too late.
4.1.5 Communications for planning
Again, there are some good attempts at doing this well: The PE grid of mailings and campaign activities
is a potentially very useful tool, although some nd it cumbersome to use and too detailed.
Lack of transparency / updates: some interviewees felt that not enough of the communications focused
on giving staff real and tangible information about progress against targets, so were unsure as to the overall
health of the organisation, or where they needed to prioritise their work to help meet organisational target.
There is a need for key organisational information which at the moment is hard to nd or maintain. A
number of external audiences need to be updated on a regular basis with facts and gures and progress
updates on campaigns, appeals and programmes. Having this type of information readily available (in the
form of key facts sheets for example) stored in one place, ideally on the intranet, would make this more
efcient and limit risk of incorrect information.
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4.1.6 Organisational communications recommendations
Immediate priorities
Clarify leadership and responsibility for internal communications:the point of this exercise was not to nd
structural solutions, rather to analyse the challenges and describe things that the organisation can do
differently and better. And given that this is the start of a new nancial year, with plans and budgets agreed,the scope for identifying additional resource to manage internal communications is very limited. But it
has become very clear that there is an appetite for internal communication to be more closely aligned
to the Strategy; better planned and disciplined; and clearly seen to be something the organisation takes
seriously. The organisations approach to Project Management has been welcomed by many teams and
perhaps offers a model. It is therefore recommended that a full time post aligned with the communications
functions and of appropriate level (ie hands on, and able to deliver, but also able to offer strategic input and support
to teams) is created. Using this model will help ensure that others in the organisation continue to feel that they have
responsibilities for communication, but will allow the central channels and functions to operate more effectively.
Other recommendations are not dependent entirely on agreement of this rst one,
but it would make accountability and implementability easier.
Subject to discussion of the rst recommendation, the leadership team should then agree which
channels the organisation wants to maintain and develop, identify clearly their purpose and ensure that
responsibility for their upkeep and delivery is clear and planned.
Update and simplify intranet content: at a very basic level the news page should update each week with
performance data and news stories from around the organisation. There should be an up to date staff
list, organogram, a page for each team with pictures and a description of their planned priorities (relating
to the strategy; and the organisational calendar should reect key internal meetings, overseas visits,
campaign milestones and external events (eg world AIDS day etc). These should hold the information
currently circulated in weekly updates (eg HEA espresso this would allow staff the option of opting out
of receiving those updates if they wanted, and retrieving them easily)
The updating and news function should be the role of the internal comms manager, though some IT
support should be allocated to amending the structure and functionality of the intranet to facilitate this.
In parallel, a small expert cross-team group, comprising (as a suggestion) the Associate Director,
Communications and Campaigns, the Co-ordinator from the Strategy Innovation and OD team (the
current intranet content manager) a representative from IT, and 2-3 from other teams should look in
detail at the offer from World Vision Canada to use their intranet system, and make recommendations
to the ELT urgently.
This should also prompt consideration within the ELT about occasional alignment of internal messaging
with the broader global World Vision umbrella. There is currently little co-ordination of internal
communication across the different World Vision organisations, and while the devolved structure of the
global organisation means this is not a major consideration, it will be important that a watching brief is
maintained on developments across global partners.
Notice boards / plasma screens: If the notice boards are to still be used, they should be used strategically.
So there should be one per Strategy heading; and in addition, one for the Childrens Rights campaign
and one for health, safety and welfare issues. The lead departments for each of these areas should have
responsibility for content generation and updating, supported by the internal communications manager.
Content should be a mix of success stories, performance data and case study. The key is that they
should look vibrant and attractive and tell people who dont know the detail what they need to know. If
the intention is that the notice boards be replaced by the plasma screens, then the same principles for
content capture and management should remain.
There needs to be a clearer process for All Staff Meetings. Content should be linked to the Strategy
(so that items discussed will be grouped under the four headings); the mechanism and timing for xing
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the agenda should be clear, and meetings should be followed up by ensuring that all presentations are
available on the intranet, along with any agreed actions. This should also reect the position of staff who
will work from London as regards ASMs (see section 4.2.1 overleaf)
The existing weekly email: this should continue but be explicitly linked to the strategy headings, and a
senior manager / Director should ensure that the content reects current priorities.
Consult on consolidating the various all staff emails: there are a number of all staff emails, including the
HEA espresso, the parliamentary update (though this has an opt-out), the country updates etc. While
some of these are popular in their own right, it is likely there is overlap in content, and that many staff
do not read them in the current form. A consultation with the key teams should identify how they could
be merged into one straightforward update, linked to the Strategy.
Longer term proposals
A complete rebuild of the intranet is necessary in the longer term. Lotus Notes is unsupported as a
platform within World Vision UK, and the way the site is instructed is a long way from how people now seek
and access information. There is the option to use the Canada WV intranet (see above). This may create a
half way house or a more rapid move to a refreshed internal website. In the long term this should include:
The introduction of a blog / forum for discussion amongst staff. This would need to be moderated (a possible
task for an internal communications manager), and would need stimulation from managers and directors,
but could provide a space for staff to share views and input which feels to be lacking at the moment
Dedicated intranet pages for external and internal campaigns
Better use of video and other dynamic content to bring information to life
Links to social media, WV partner websites and other external information.
Cascade Recommendations:
Introduce a monthly cascade for managers from ELT, summarising key decisions under strategy headings.
This would of course not replace the need for regular and timely communication between directors
and managers, but could be an important fail safe to ensure a consistency of information within theorganisation at a xed point each month. The Leading Edge publication could be developed as a basis for
this style of cascade brieng
Longer term
At the next Bi monthly senior managers meeting, managers should discuss and agree how they will
communicate their discussions / decisions to the organisation in the future.
Cross team communications recommendations:
Teams should be given a template to use to update their pages on the intranet. These should include:
- Pictures, names and contact details of all staff as well as where to nd us
- Brief information on teams priorities
- Information about team meetings - regularity, how to get something on the agenda etc - A space for weekly updates or other communication
- Monthly commentary on performance, and on what is coming up
The template should be designed to look attractive, corporate and in line with organisational guidelines.
Word limits should apply to each section.
If teams still want to send out weekly updates, they should do this with an option for people to opt out and
an encouragement for people to check the intranet for latest news.
Some staff made the suggestion that informal time be given over (eg on a Wednesday lunchtime) for
information sharing sessions. There are concerns about the amount of time, however, that people have for
this kind of activity. Potentially this could be piloted to see how staff react and whether teams nd it a usefulway of updating colleagues.
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Communications for planning recommendations:
Set up and sustain an internal calendar (using Outlook, or google calendars or lotus notes. If email is migrating
to outlook, then it makes sense to use this as the platform). As a minimum any calendar would need to cover:
Key internal meetings (and deadlines for nalising agenda)
External trips by CEO, programme managers and others, and visits to the UK from in-country staff Key supporter mailing dates and campaign milestones
Additionally it could be extended to cover key external dates (party conferences, international advocacy days etc)
The weekly internal email should remind people each week to refer to the calendar when planning meetings.
Responsibility for adding and changing events should be dispersed to key contact points in each team,
with overall control resting with the internal communications function
4.2 Communications around the specic considerations of theLondon move and Childrens rights campaign
4.2.1 London moveMost staff felt that while communication around the move had been poor initially, it was better now. Some
expressed the feeling that the organisation was trying to be too positive, when it would have been better
for staff to be told it was going to be a long and complex process. The establishing of a dedicated team who
provide updates on progress is felt to be a good step.
However, staff do have concerns about practical communications considerations following the move. And
at the moment they are unsure where to go with their concerns. A number of interviewees said Ive heard
that or the rumour is in relation, for example, to how managers planned to split their time between
London and Milton Keynes, but there was very little certainty.
There is an opportunity now to engage staff in planning how they want communications to work across the ofces.
4.2.2 London move communications recommendations:
Managers to instigate an open discussion about the communication challenges of having two ofces, and
ask staff to help shape proposals. These could help clarify issues where there is currently uncertainty eg the
amount of time managers will spend in each location, the likelihood of having video conferencing facilities etc
Some staff suggested the idea of having occasional all-staff meetings in London. While this was acknowledged
not to be practical in the immediate term, it was something that could be considered from time to time
in the future
The clear messaging and project management that is now underway is welcome and should continue
Informal channels for discussion and suggestions should be established a permanent suggestion wall
to place ideas (virtual or real)
4.2.3 Childrens rights (one theme) campaign internal communications
Introducing a one theme campaign on childrens rights has been a deliberate attempt by the organisation
to bring focus to its external communications, and better align policy, programme operations and messaging.
The choice of childrens rights seems to have been welcomed within the organisation, and there is recognition
that it is a concept which is not only in line with the organisations strategy, but still has appeal for the media,
politicians and supporters. Key ndings from the interviews were that:
The campaign was being developed and led more effectively than earlier attempts. People felt better
engaged, and that the t of the campaign could be applied to their work.
There remains a need and an opportunity to esh out what the campaign means in practice some
teams, including marketing and fundraising, wanted more clarity on the implications of the campaign, in
terms of new language that might result from the focus on childrens rights.
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There was a hope and an enthusiasm for clarity on impact of the campaign specic calls that could
be made to politicians, and key facts and gures relating to childrens rights.
A question remains about areas of work outside of the campaign. There was a feeling that some things wouldnt
t under the childrens rights banner, but nevertheless the organisation still needed to champion them, and some
supporters would be interested in them. This needs to be the focus of further discussion or clarication.
Again, rather than give this communications set of tasks to an internal communications manager or team,
they should become part of the project management of the overall campaign group.
4.2.4 Campaign Recommendations:
Brainstorm the need for key materials with a cross organisational group of operational and managerial
staff. Potential outcomes could include campaign FAQs, style guides, key facts etc.
Engage non-managerial staff in an informal brieng. Ask them the question what does the campaign mean
to me? (capture this and use it on notice boards, intranet etc).
Make sure key campaign milestones are in the organisational Calendar. Dedicate one internal notice board and / or plasma screen to the campaign, with full updates, materials
and background information.
In the short term, essential campaign documents and materials should be on the intranet. In the longer
term as part of any changes to the intranet, there should be dedicated Campaign pages on with all
source materials and updates
4.3 Internal communications culture
Discussions with staff revealed a number of challenges at the less tangible end of communication. These
were around things like the tone, the perceived priority of internal communication, the way success was
celebrated and bad news and feedback dealt with. There were also some issues raised about how decisions
are made and communicated, and some sense that while the strategy set an excellent high level vision, there
was a need for further work in translating that into meaningful blocks for people.
The Tone and style of communications: there was some frustration that while external communications
(marketing mailing, campaign materials etc) are vibrant, glossy, and give a great sense of World Visions work,
some internal communications were perceived as drab, cheap and not very well thought through.
While some managers and directors were praised for their communications, there remain some challenges:
over the length of emails (some updates were felt to take too long to get to the point), the appropriateness
of some of the content being sent to all staff; and the impersonality of mass emails.
There are also challenges around consultation. Most staff felt glad to be involved in discussions, particularly
around the strategy. However, there was a perception from some around the Jericho consultation thatexpectations for internal change were set very high, and then changes in circumstances meant that very
little appeared to change in the end. There also was felt to be some dissonance between the ideas being
implemented orange walls and TV screens and the proposals made by staff.
There is a quarterly pulse check of staff attitudes which a number of staff felt was positive and helpful. There
were some doubts expressed as to whether it was a blunt instrument, which could do with some rening,
but in general it is felt to be helpful, and staff appreciated the feedback.
The focus on staff wellbeing has been welcomed, and people generally feel that the rhetoric has been
matched by action. However, there were some fears that Directors, and by implication the organisation, could
sometimes take too rational view of making change and not strongly enough appreciate the emotional
response that people will feel as a result of disruption to their day to day activities.
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The organisation is not felt to be good at celebrating success, and individual teams are unsure how to tell
people about good things that have happened. Conversely, some staff felt that the organisation also did not
handle communication of failure or challenge very well either, preferring a positive spin to openness.
Case Study
Of the communal notice boards within the Milton Keynes HQ, one is dedicated to celebrations,
another to news and media stories about World Vision UK. Neither are used effectively, as the photos
below show. The point of this example is not to show that there is a problem of updating notice boards
(although this does seem to be the case), rather that a well meaning idea has not been thought through.
The organisation needs to answer a few simple questions: if we are using notice boards to celebrate
success, who will update them? How will they nd the examples? How will these be linked to the
strategy? If we are not using notice boards, what other mechanisms can we use? Etc etc
One further challenge was around decision making. Many staff interviewed said, in relation to a wide range
of issues (including the London move, as noted above) Ive heard that... or I think it is the case that...,
while acknowledging that they were actually unsure as to whether a decision had been made. More than one
member of staff agreed that sometimes news just lters out rather than decisions being made.
Responsibility for internal communications is universally held to be too low a priority within the
organisation. Part of this is manifested in the fact that the person with the most corporate responsibility
for communications whilst talented, well thought of and capable is not in any position to be involved in
strategic and other discussions. Neither does she have the authority to shape, stop or change the way that
people communicate.The Organisations introduction of a Project Management function has been welcomed and is proving useful
and may provide an example of how responsibility can be devolved, but good practise and consistency maintained.
There is a fear amongst some staff of information overload although on deeper questioning it appeared
that bad targeting of information was principally the cause of this.
The pulse check provides a useful way of gauging staff views. Responses were felt generally to be listened
to, and information about the results and their implications fed back. Some felt the pulse check itself did not
provide enough scope for more nuanced discussion of organisational challenges.
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4.3.1 Communications culture recommendations:
Directors and senior managers should continue to set a positive tone which seeks to inform staff. They
should be clearer about their decisions, and as per recommendations under 3.1 have better processes
for managing core communications channels
Leadership communications should be explicitly aligned with strategy (and by implication, organisational plans)to show how day to day actions and developments are helping or causing challenges to - implementation
The leadership team should publish Quarterly performance updates which should be accessible and
honest about challenges. These could form the initial presentation at All Staff Meetings.
As noted in section 3.1 a Project Management style approach is recommended to allow teams to be
creative, but supported and structured, with their own communications internally
Efforts should be made to open up space for informal discussion of business issues either on the
intranet, or in other physical space eg Wednesday lunch time / informal drop ins?
5. Embedding these changes
Finally some important steps that may help embedding these changes in practice within the organisation, and
for which some external support may be required, include:
Giving support to managers to improve communications skills: this could include a learning set around
effective brieng and communication. There are many skilled communicators already, who could help
others improve, but some external facilitation may help with this process.
Developing an internal communications strategy: in the same way as there is a marketing strategy, and one for
government relations, there should be a clear, leadership endorsed strategy for engaging staff as stakeholders.
A note on resource implicationsIt is clear that there is not a pot of money oating around to invest quickly in internal communications. The
post identied would cost up to 50,000 to resource if approved (at a salary level of 33-36,000 plus on
costs). However, it is thought that it could be possible to reallocate some existing resources to make the
post a possibility in the short term. Longer term proposals like rebuilding the intranet will needed to have
separate business cases made in the future.
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Annex 1: Table 1 - Current World Vision UKinternal communications channels
Channel Brief description Ownership / responsibility Sample commentsAll staff meeting Quarterly get
together of all staff
in Milton Keynes.
Short presentations
on a number of topic,
including by CEO
Governance team
organises. Agenda set
by CEO. Teams need to
suggest key topics (though
not everyone clear about
process)
good but rushed
agenda seems to change right up until last
minute
good, but if you miss the meeting you
sometimes miss out on information, as there
is no follow up
it would be good to hear more from
ordinary staff members about the practical
side of some of the things being discussed
Weekly internal
comms email
Put together by Jenny
Archibald in HR.
A summary of key
business issues in
the organisation
Developed by HR open
to anyone to submit. Little
sense of editorial control
felt by HR, though they do
edit and work with teams
A good source of information, and one that
has improved
Its ne, but unfortunately too many people
just ignore it
It doesnt really tell me the critical things I
need to know about the organisation
It should just stick to giving us information,
not personal views
Posters and
notice boards
A variety of notice
boards around
the ofce some
contain pictures andthank you letters
from children, some
feature organisational
successes, media
coverage and general
news
Not clear a variety of
teams seem to have some
responsibility for them
Embarrassing the only thing on the
celebrations board is about a year out of
date
The country info is interesting, but whydoesnt it tell us more about our actual work
in the country?
I couldnt tell you at all what is on the staff
notice board I never look at it
Intranet Lotus notes based
system, featuring
key organisational
information (staff
list, training, forms)
and other useful
documents
Relatively junior member of
HR has responsibility. Very
few people know how to
update it, and there is no
technical support
Rubbish; A disaster; Hopeless; never up
to date
I only use it as an absolute last resort
it has improved, but no-one uses it
Justins emails /
blogs
Periodic emails from
CEO when he is
overseas he provides
a regular blog often
with video content
CEO and his ofce Justins emails are short and tell you what
you need to know
His video blogs are excellent but he only
does them when he is travelling
I will usually read it if it comes from Justin
Leading Edge Monthly one
page summary
of leadership andmanagement issues
Nick Wright Good because it is concise
I skimmed it over, looking for something of
interest, but didnt read it in depthI offered a couple of suggestions to Nick and
he was pleased because it was the rst bit of
feedback he had had!
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Pulse check Quar terly survey
of staff views.
Anonymous, but
results presented by
team against a range
of indicators
HR The pulse check is useful its good to see
how our team is doing versus others
the pulse check is OK but sometimes
doesnt bring out issues clearly enough.
Theres a deep cynicism among many staff
about the pulse check
Team emails A number of teams
provide updates
for the rest of the
organisation including:
HEA espresso,
campaigns updates,
communications,
summary, and country
updates
Different teams responsible
usually an administrator
or a co-ordinator who pulls
together content (though
not always)
The campaigns emails have got better they
used to be too long they were hard to make
sense of
Our team does provide an update, but
it is targeted to people we think will be
interested, and they have an opt out
there are some good sources of information
available the HEA espresso email is very
useful (a number of people made this point)
There is a lot of abuse of the all staff email,which means that people send and receive a
lot of junk
The country teams emails are limited to
three bullets per country, and not linked to
the strategy
The Public
Engagement
grid
Detailed excel
spreadsheet covering
6-weekly rolling
period detailing
marketing and
campaigns activity
Planning team within Public
Engagement responsible
they circulate the grid
within PE and to selected
other teams
The grid is good because when it gets sent
out, it prompts people to say if plans have
changed
It is a really useful planning tool
It is good but it is not in a very user friendly
format
Sometimes it just has too much information
on it
Consultations
or internal
campaigns
Focused consultative
work with staff
regarding particular
issues, eg the Strategy,
but also team led
initiatives such as
presentations on
market data, and onnew initiatives
Different teams take
responsibility (eg strategy
team, Government
relations, marketing)
The strategy consultation process was
excellent (more than one person said this)
The presentation on marketing to our
different audiences was fascinating
Sometimes we over consult
Other A range of other
mechanisms for
nding out stuff
were mentioned by
people. These were
mostly informal or
irregular, and included
Car sharing, Kitchen
conversations, and
relationships
Varies informal I get most of the key information I need
from my car share
I found out about the increase in sponsor
payments by a conversation in the kitchen
If youve been here some time, you probably
know who to ask. It is much harder for new
people
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Empowering our peopleSharing information to deliver the Strategy
Analysis and recommendations concerning internal
communications within World Vision UK
This report and recommendations compiled and designed
by DHA Communications With many thanks to Dominic Nutt Janice Gentry